A patient in the OU-HCOM
Diabetes Free Clinic
consults with the
Heritage
Community Clinic’s Tobie Newberry, C.N.P.

By Alyse Lorber
Nov. 1, 2011

Balancing
healthcare and nutrition can be a
difficult task for some Southeast Ohio
residents. The Ohio University Heritage
College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (OU-HCOM)
Heritage Community Clinic is working to
address both needs by providing medical
services as well as access to healthy,
local foods.

Clinic staff
initiated a food collection program in
June 2010 after an encounter with a
patient at the Diabetes Free Clinic, a
monthly opportunity for underinsured or
uninsured patients with the disease to
get care and assistance with medication.

"We noticed one of
our diabetic patients having difficulty
affording food," explained Melissa
Kemper, assistant director of
Community Health Programs at OU-HCOM.
"That was a red flag for us because
making good food choices and having
access to fruits, vegetables and
nutritious meals is one of the most
important pieces of controlling
diabetes."

Staff began calling
local food banks to help that patient,
but the effort quickly turned into
something much bigger. It sparked food
donation drives at OU-HCOM that today
are helping provide members of the
Southeast Ohio community with not just
food, but nutrition that can help
improve their health.

Serving up healthy choices

Fruits, vegetables
and whole grains―the components of a
healthy diet―typically come with a
higher price tag than less healthy menu
items such as fast or processed foods.
In Appalachian Ohio, where poverty rates
are higher than anywhere else in the
state, that means it’s not always easy
for residents to put healthy meals on
the table.

Understanding those
circumstances, and given the clinic’s
mission to serve communities in need,
food drives were a natural step to take,
Kemper said. The clinic’s programs,
which range from childhood immunizations
and obesity prevention to glaucoma and
blood pressure screenings, are offered
to uninsured and underinsured patients
from the region.

"It’s a perfect fit
for us to promote healthy eating while
offering services to improve health,"
she said.

In 2010, Kemper and
colleagues began collecting bags of
non-perishable food items and offering
them to each diabetes clinic patient and
other patients who could make use of
them. A certified diabetes educator came
up with a list of foods that would be
appropriate to give to diabetes
patients, and OU-HCOM staff created
healthy recipes for patients and tips on
how to prepare the food.

Once the word got
out about the food collection, churches,
sororities and local residents and
businesses joined the effort. OU-HCOM
faculty, students and staff often pitch
in, for example, by making
non-perishable foods required for
admission to holiday or fundraising
events. The bags, still given out today,
include things like canned fruits and
vegetables, whole wheat pasta and bread,
tuna, peanut butter and green beans.

Dishing out fresh
solutions

In August this
year, the effort gained more momentum
when clinic staff began collaborating
with the
Community Food Initiatives (CFI), an
organization that works to expand access
to fresh, local foods in Appalachian
Ohio. The new partnership allowed the
clinic to add locally grown produce to
their offerings.

"Some people might
never pick up a butternut squash at the
store," said Lauren Borovicka, program
coordinator for the ComCorps program,
"but if we provide it to them and give
them information on how to cook it, they
might see it at the store and try it
again. Plus, we’re supporting local
agriculture at the same time."

ComCorps is an
AmeriCorps program administered by
OU-HCOM with the goal of providing
health education across Athens County.
With volunteers working across the
county to increase access to fresh
foods, Borovicka realized their efforts
would be valuable at home in OU-HCOM.

Each Monday,
Kaitlyn Kelly, AmeriCorps member and
Heritage Community Clinic volunteer,
picks up produce from the CFI donation
station, located at the Athens Farmer's
Market on East State Street, and
delivers it to the clinic. The produce
includes seasonal selections, such as
apples and root vegetables.

"We’re trying for a
combination of produce people will
recognize and some lesser known foods in
order to increase exposure to different
kinds of fruits and vegetables," Kelly
said.

In the past three
months alone, the clinics have provided
1,076 pounds of food to 297 community
members.

"We know healthy
eating and diet are such a huge part of
health," Borovicka said. "We just want
to reduce barriers to that as much as
possible.”

You can donate food
to the Heritage Community Clinic by
contacting Melissa Kemper at
kemperm@ohio.edu or
740.593.2567.